Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #1 by Brandon Montclare, Amy Reeder, and Natacha Bustos hits stands today. While I’m always excited by more diversity on the page and behind the scenes (Lunella, aka Moon Girl, is a new young woman of color character and the book boasts three women creators including Reeder as co-writer, Bustos on art, and Tamra Bonvillain providing colors), I’m rather concerned about Lunella’s visual similarities to Fight Like a Girl’s Amarosa. Continue reading ‘‘Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur’ Bears Striking Similarities to ‘Fight Like a Girl’’

In celebration of Black History Month, I’m giving away copies of two of my favorite comics on the Journey Into Awesome Facebook page! First up is a new hardcover copy of Captain America: Truth (originally published as Truth: Red, White & Black) by Robert Morales (Captain America) and Kyle Baker (Why I Hate Saturn).

The following is the final in a series examining the validity of the X-Men’s mutant oppression metaphor. Read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 before proceeding.

I’ve previously discussed several ways mutants are persecuted in the Marvel Universe. Since the X-Men are superheroes, most of these systems of oppression tend to take the form of things that can be punched into submission. Unfortunately, most real world modes of oppression aren’t so easily overcome. Continue reading ‘In Defense of the Mutant Oppression Metaphor (Part 4)’

The following is the second in a seriesexamining the validity of the X-Men’s mutant oppression metaphor. You should read Part 1 before proceeding.

Last post, I highlighted the difference in the public treatment of mutant and “human” superhero teams in order to establish the absurdity of fearing mutants over “normal” superpowered people. I also discussed how this fear is wielded by the majority in an effort to justify the hate and oppression of the mutant people.

On two previousposts about the “M-word” and the mutant oppression metaphor, a couple commenters voiced concerns about the feasibility of using superpowered mutants as an effective metaphor for oppressed groups.

Readers have brought up some valid points, including the possibility that unlike real world oppressed groups, mutants really are dangerous, as well as the idea that their superpowers invalidate the comparison to real subjugated people. I think both points are interesting and deserve a larger exploration.

Dragon Con was amazing. Let me start by sending out a great big thank you to everyone who made it out to my panels. You all packed that conference room and were the best audience I’ve ever had the pleasure to speak to. On Saturday night, we even had a bunch of people hang out for an extra two hours after the panel officially “ended” to chat about gender, race, and sexuality in comics.